


It Kills Anything

by YlvaUllsdotter



Series: Ends And Means [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: 13.13, 9 squares 3 fics, Canon language, Case Fic, Mentions of canon character death, Other, Tumblr Challenge, canon violence, devil's bargain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 18:58:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13981302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YlvaUllsdotter/pseuds/YlvaUllsdotter
Summary: Sam gets a call in the early morning from someone who is a friend of a friend. He goes to meet with them and ends up hunting a demon.





	It Kills Anything

**Author's Note:**

> Here’s my entry for @thing-you-do-with-that-thing’s 9 squares for 3 fics challenge on Tumblr. I decided to go for a three part series, each part covering three separate squares. There’s no pairings in any of the fics as this is a three-part case-fic. My first case-fic in fact. It takes place after 13.13 Devil’s Bargain. 
> 
> The series is called Ends And Means. This is part 1.
> 
> As always, I apologize for nothing.

The phone buzzing on the nightstand woke Sam up. Blinking rapidly to adjust to the light, he cleared his throat before answering.

“Yeah?”

“Sam? Sam Winchester?” The voice on the other end was female, and apprehensive.

“Yeah. Who is this?”

“My name is Rebecca. Sands. I got your number from Eileen Leahey?”

The sound of Eileen’s name still hurt, and he had to swallow down the sudden lump that formed in his throat.

“Uhm, yeah. Yeah, I knew Eileen. She never mentioned you though.”

“No, she wouldn’t have. I’m a nurse, and I met her when she got banged up pretty good by a couple of werewolves. She would come and see me whenever she was in the States, but she didn’t want to pull me into her life.”

“Right. So, what can I do for you?”

“Uhm, well, Eileen gave me your number for emergencies, for when she wasn’t around. And I...think I may need the help of a...specialist.”

“Ok. Can you be more specific?”

“Actually, it would be better if we could meet. If that’s ok?”

“Yeah. Yes. That would be ok. Where?”

“I’ll text you the address to the clinic where I work.”

Sam checked the text when it came through and quickly checked the GPS for quickest routes.

“That’s, uh, that’s about a 10-hour-drive.” He paused to check the time. “I can be there by six p.m., would that be ok?”

"Yes, that would be great. I get off work at six-thirty. There is a restaurant just down the street from where I work, can we meet there?”

“Sure, that’s fine. I’ll see you then.” He hung up before he had time to reflect on whether he was being rude or not. He shrugged. She had called him at five a.m. after all.

Not knowing what was up, he chose not to bother Dean who was, of course, still asleep. After a quick shower and a cup of coffee, Sam was on the road. He chose a truck rather than taking the Impala, and actually relished the opportunity to have some time to himself on the road.

He only stopped for gas once, and right at six p.m. he rolled into Lander, Wyoming. Traffic was light and with the help of the GPS on his phone he easily found the restaurant where they had agreed to meet. With about half an hour to spare, he set up his laptop and browsed local news while he waited.

She was still wearing her scrubs when she arrived, making her easy to spot. He caught her eye and gave her a small smile and a nod, prompting her to come over.

“Sam?”

“Yeah. You’re Rebecca?”

“Yes. Thank you so much for coming all this way.”

“No problem. Eileen was a...good friend.” He gave her his best reassuring smile. “So, what can I do for you?”

She fidgeted with the shoulder strap to her purse, clearly uncertain how to express her concerns. Having learned long ago that silence was more likely to prompt the other person to speak than any verbal encouragement, he stayed quiet and waited her out.

“It seems so silly, now that I’ve had time to think about it. I just don’t know. It’s...maybe I was just seeing things.”

“Rebecca, whatever it is, you can trust me. If it’s nothing, great, but if it’s something, then I’ll help you deal with it, whatever it is. Ok?”

She nodded and took a deep breath.

“Yesterday, right around this time, there was a minor accident outside the clinic where I work. Just a fender bender, but I saw it happen from my window and went outside to see if anyone needed medical assistance. One of the drivers had a small injury on his leg. The strange thing was, he didn’t even seem to notice it until I pointed it out. And it wasn’t just an abrasion, it was an open gash. Nothing that required stitches, but still, it would have hurt.”

Sam nodded to keep her talking, not sure yet where this was going.

“Well, I got this guy to come into the clinic so I could patch him up, and…” She paused to take another deep breath. “While I was taking care of his wound, I looked up, and...I could have sworn his eyes were black.”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Really? Could it have been a trick of the light?”

“I thought about that, but no, I don’t think so. I mean, I debated all night what I saw, or thought I saw, before I decided to call you. From what Eileen told me, black eyes means...a demon. Which I’m not sure I believe in, but…” She shrugged, looking almost apologetic.

“No, no, it’s ok. Yes, demons usually have black eyes. And it would track with it not feeling the injury, since the body is just another meatsuit to them. If it was focused on something else at the time, it wouldn’t have bothered with a minor wound.” He popped his laptop open and typed in a search. “Let me check something…Yeah, looks like we have some minor demonic omens around here. Would have been easy to miss. It probably means it’s just the one demon. It does make me wonder what it’s doing here. Did he say anything?”

“Nothing that sticks out. If it helps, he went north when he left.”

“Hmm, north. Let’s see…” Sam followed the street they were on north on the map, but found nothing that really stood out. On a hunch, he checked the police blotter, and got lucky. The accident was logged from the previous day, and so was the make and model of the car. Within moments he had hacked the traffic cameras in the area and was checking for it. When he found it,  it was parked in front of what appeared to be some kind of business. He turned the laptop around so Rebecca could see.

“Recognize this place?”

“Uhm, yes, that’s the post office. It’s close by.”

“How close?”

“Like, walking distance? Maybe a mile, or less?”

“Great. I’ll start there then and see what I can see. And, Rebecca?” He waited until he had eye contact. “You did the right thing, calling me.” Her look of cautious relief prompted him to give her a warm smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle this. You just go back to your life and forget it ever happened.”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” She gave a small laugh. “I’ll do my best though. Just...let me know when you’ve taken care of it? I think I’ll worry until I know that thing is gone from here.” She shuddered in revulsion.

“Sure, no problem. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.” He collected his laptop and stood up, the two of them leaving the restaurant together. He gave her a wave as he got in his truck and watched her walk back towards a parking lot outside what must be the medical clinic where she got in a small compact car and drove off. Sam realized he was stalling and took a deep breath before calling Dean.

“Sam? Where the hell are you?” Dean sounded upset, which Sam had expected.

“Calm down, Dean. I’m in Lander, Wyoming, tracking a demon.”

“What the hell? Why?”

“A friend of Eileen’s called me early this morning, and I thought since we didn’t have anything planned, I’d go talk to her at least.”

“Oh.” Dean’s voice softened and Sam cringed inwardly, knowing it was for him and the something that had been there between him and Eileen. “So, a demon?”

Sam huffed a sigh. “Yeah. It’s weird, Dean. Omens suggest there’s just the one demon, but I’d really like to know what it’s up to. It’s never anything good, right?”

“Yeah, no, not in our experience. Want me to join you?”

“Actually, since I don’t know what’s going on, I’d appreciate the backup.”

“Sure. I’ll be there in the morning. Text me when you know where you’re staying the night.” He paused and Sam could almost hear the smirk forming. “Unless you’re staying with this chick that called big strong you to help her?”

“Rebecca. And no, I don’t want to drag her any further into this than absolutely necessary. See you tomorrow, Dean.” Sam hung up on Dean’s chuckle and sighed.

To save time, he looked up motels in the area on his phone and picked the closest one, imaginatively named the Downtown Motel, getting directions before starting the truck. It was a short drive, and within half an hour he was checked in and settled in his room. He texted Dean the name and address of the motel, and his room number, before turning the ringer off on his phone and going to take a shower.

A loud knock on the motel room door woke Sam the next morning. He checked the time on his phone, six a.m., and grabbed his gun before shuffling over to the door. Looking out the peephole, he saw a tired Dean waiting impatiently. Sam unlocked and opened the door, already half way back to his bed before Dean entered.

“‘Mornin’, sunshine!” Dean greeted him.

“Shower. Coffee.” Sam grumbled and shuffled off toward the bathroom.

When he came back out, feeling marginally more human after his shower, Dean handed him a styrofoam cup of coffee and Sam gratefully took a sip.

“Ok. So this demon, tell me what you got.” Dean prompted.

“Right. So get this, from what I can tell, he is flying completely under the radar. If Rebecca hadn’t noticed his black eyes no one would ever have picked up on him being here. And apparently he had business at the local post office. So I thought maybe we could start there, pretext as FBI, ask around, see if anyone’s seen him.”

“Ok. All right. You got a picture of the guy?”

“Yeah, I hacked the medical clinic CCTV system and got a pretty good still of his face. No name though, which doesn’t really matter.”

Dean hummed thoughtfully. “Ok, well, let’s get suited up, go grab some breakfast, and then check this place out.”

Just after eight-thirty a.m., the Impala rolled up outside the post office, the brothers in full fed mode. The fake badges prompted all the cooperation they could want, and before long they knew the name the demon was using, and that he had been there to check a mail box. Checking the records, they figured out that there would have been one letter in the box, delivered the week before. Thanking the manager for his cooperation, they headed back out to the car.

“Well this is weird as hell. What do you think?” Dean commented.

“Maybe a mail drop? Could’ve been getting his orders in that letter?” Sam speculated.

Dean shrugged. “As good a theory as any. So how do we find this asshat?”

Sam was already on his laptop, checking the city’s traffic cam system, scanning for the car the demon had been using. “Let’s head back to the motel, this could take a while.”

The engine roared to life and Dean headed back toward the motel, which was only a few blocks away. Before they got there, Sam let out a surprised “Huh.”

“What?”

“Oh. Uhm, looks like he’s heading out of town.”

“Heading? As in?”

“Yeah. As in, right now. This footage is from ten minutes ago. Looks like he’s heading...south-east on highway 131.”

Sam had barely finished speaking before Dean was scanning for road signs and heading off to follow the demon. As soon as they left the city limits, Dean pressed his Baby up to 75 mph, roaring down the two-lane blacktop, keeping his eyes on the road, while Sam scanned for the car they were pursuing.

It took them half an hour to catch up to the demon, and when they did they were forced to stay on his tail for another couple of miles before the road cleared of other cars. Sam pulled his gun and while Dean held the Impala steady, he blew out one of the rear tires of the demon’s car.

Swerving wildly, he managed to pull off to the side where he came to a stop in a cloud of dust. Dean overtook the other car before pulling up in front of it, adding to the dust cloud. Sam was out of the car before it had come to a complete stop, aiming his gun at the driver’s side. A moment later, Dean was there beside him.

“Get out of the car!” Sam shouted, trying not to choke on the dust that still had not settled.

The driver’s side door creaked open and the demon emerged, looking a little shaken.

"Winchesters. How did you even find me?”

“Does it matter?” Sam retorted.

“Oh sure it does. I need to know who to go back and skin alive after I’m done with you two.”

“Yeah, you know what? Not happening.” Dean rasped, squeezing off a shot that went clean through the demon’s leg, blowing out his knee.

Sam whipped his head around to look over at Dean when he noticed the firey crackling at the bullet wound. Sure enough, Dean was wielding the Colt. Advancing quickly on the demon, who was now on the ground, whimpering and clutching his knee, Dean pressed the still warm muzzle against the demon’s forehead.

“Talk. What are you doing here? What was in the mail box?”

“Dude! You shot me! Why would I tell you anything? You’re just gonna kill me anyway.”

“Yeah, I am, but you get to decide if I kill you quick and, mostly, painless, or if I get to drag it out for days.” Dean’s voice was full of menace, making Sam a little uncomfortable.

“Dean.”

Dean grunted in acknowledgment but kept all his attention focused on the demon.

“So, your choice, asshat. Talk, or not, up to you. You’ll die either way.”

“Fine, fine! It was a letter. I haven’t opened it, I was just picking it up to deliver to another mail drop. I don’t know what’s in it, I swear.”

Dean cocked his head and studied the demon for a moment before grunting again, and giving a short nod. “I believe you”, was all he said before pulling the trigger, putting a spell-bound, demon-killing bullet in the demon’s head.

“Dean! What the hell!”

“What? He told us what he knew.” Dean rationalized. “Did you wanna let him go?”

“No, of course not. Just...are you ok?” Sam frowned in concern.

“What? Of course I’m ok! Why wouldn’t I be?” Dean huffed as he put the Colt away, checking through the dead demon’s clothes for the letter. “Come on, stop whining like a little girl and help me look for the letter.”

Sam huffed in annoyance, putting on his trademark bitchface, but since Dean had all his attention on finding the letter, he let it drop after a moment. Leaving Dean to paw at the dead guy’s clothes, Sam started searching the car. He found the letter almost immediately, stashed in the glove compartment.

“Found it.” He barely had time to pull it out before Dean was there, snatching it from his hands.

“Let’s see what this is then.” He was already ripping the envelope open, pulling out a single sheet of paper. Reading the writing, Dean frowned. “Well I’ll be damned. Check it out.” He thrust the paper at Sam.

_Ketch_

_Motel 6_

_1561 6th St, Wells, NV_


End file.
